In the early years of this century, travel writers were awed by the physical presence and athletic prowess of the East African Maasai. Today, the record breaking and championship winning performances of Kenyan athletes are regularly part of the media sports circus. This wide-ranging book explores, for the first time in any depth, the phenomenon of Kenyan running. Crossing a variety of fields - history, geography, sports studies and popular culture - and making use of sources as diverse as colonialists archives and sports magazines, the authors probe beneath the superficial images of records and results. Lavishly illustrated with maps, diagrams and photographs, this imaginative and path breaking book will be of interest to students of sports sociology, sports history, cultural geography and African studies, and to sports fans everywhere.